As it is often necessary to move hospital beds around a ward and also around a care home, such beds are typically provided with castors. Of course, a wheeled bed must be provided with a braking system to ensure that the bed can be set in one position. Many known hospital beds are provided with castors having integral brake mechanisms. A known castor of this type is provided with a cam coupled to a brake pad, the cam being rotatable to engage the brake pad with or to disengage the brake pad from a wheel of the castor. The cam and brake pad are typically provided internally of a connecting shaft of the castor.
As all four corners of such beds are typically provided with castors, it is not sufficient to brake a single castor. In practice, it is a requirement for all four castors to be braked. Of course, engaging the brake on all four castors separately can be difficult and systems have therefore been developed to link the braking systems of the castors together. Such systems are, however, complex in design.
The braking systems for such beds are typically provided with one or more pedals. As will be appreciated, such pedals are much used and often used hard, particularly in a hospital environment. It is not uncommon for the pedals to break or for components to come loose. This compromises the usability of the devices and often the safety and efficiency of the braking system.